A Gentle, Iron Giant
by 26 Combo
Summary: AU Oneshot: A young Edward befriends an ageless suit of armor he found in the woods.


_**~A Gentle, Iron Giant~**_

 _ **A story by: 26 Combo**_

* * *

 _ **O**_ nce upon a time, long ago, there lived a small, cozy cottage atop a lonely grassy hill. The humble abode was constructed of grey cobblestone walls with deep green moss growing between the gaps. The roof of the quaint shelter was that of golden straw and cherry wood, the roofing overhanging the edges a bit. It was but a simple structure that rested on a lonesome hill, covered in vibrant green grass that swayed to the blowing breeze. At the bottom of the hill lay a forest of exquisite trees that were aged beyond the count of man, their large green canopy encircling the hilltop home so that the residents could look out the window and see it all. The breathtaking view changed colors with the seasons: boasting greens that came alive in summer and spring, red's and yellow's that soaked up the many encompassing sunsets in fall, and the pure white snow that blanketed the chilled Earth in winter. All this they could see from their simple cottage window, the entire Earth changing colors to greet the coming seasons.

Within the four quaint walls of the hilltop cottage lived a mother and her son. The mom, Trisha, had beautiful brown hair of silk that flowed over her shoulders and sparkling sapphire eyes that fiercely loved her only son, Edward. Her son, Edward, was given the same silky hair of his mother - except it was as golden as the hues that lied within the sun itself, his eyes matching the many honeysuckles they harvested over the years. The two led a simple life of peace atop their perch as if they were the only people in the entire world.

One sunny after noon the happy boy decided to go on an adventure in the woods.

"Mom!" he cried out, smiling wide once her attention shifted to his plea. "Can I go on an adventure today?"

Trisha matched her son's grin with one of her own, crouching down and ruffling Ed's soft and smooth hair.

"Of course sweetie! Just make sure you're back by sundown."

Edward nodded and saluted his mom, pretending he was a solider off to war. "I promise!"

Trisha smiled as her son opened the wooden door, running off with his arms outstretched like an airplane. Soon enough the small child disappeared from her sight as he began his descent down the grassy hill.

"It's such a beautiful day out!" the boy happily exclaimed, giggling as he dropped to his knees and laid down, causing him to roll down the familiar hill.

"Wee! Hahaha!" he laughed, watching as the bright blue sky and white clouds spun in circles. After many of dizzying rolls Ed made it to the bottom of the hill, his clothes slightly grass stained from the descent.

"That was fun," Ed concluded, laying on his back and watching as the puffy clouds passed by. After spending a decent amount of time making a list of all the images he saw in the clouds, Edward stood up and brushed himself off, taking a deep breath before entering the woods.

The blond youngster looked around, walking slowly to observe everything within his field of view. The ancient trees towered over him with a protective and comforting aura. The ground on which he trotted was covered in short, green grass that held the occasional flower and mossy rock. Lively birds sung atop the branches a nearby stream trickled in the distance, creating a symphony of sounds and nature.

"I wonder what I shall find today?" the explorer wondered, bending down and picking up mossy rock to reveal a couple of bugs and ants.

"Hello!" the boy greeted before setting the rock back in the indention it had left in the cool Earth.

Edward stood up and continued on his way, walking among the forest animals and nature that he called friends. Twisting through deep brown trees and climbing over silvery rocks about his favorite thing to do, aside from visiting the creek. With eagerness and vigor the adventurer walked with a skip in his step, making his way to the stream.

"There's my dear friend!" Ed called out to the creek as if it was alive. The crystal blue water carved a path in the ground, climbing and falling over the various rocks in its path, sparkling from the sunrays that beamed through the canopy.

The boy ran up to a very large boulder, climbing it and sitting atop the rounded rock.

"I can see everything from up here!" he exaggerated, pivoting to see the entire world about him. "It's like where we live!"

After making his circle the blond closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, reopening them to find something rather curious.

"I've never seen that boulder before," the perched child observed, sliding down from his lookout to get a closer look. He hopped across the slippery rocks that rested in the creek, smiling once he reached the other side.

"Woah, it's as big as my other rock!" Ed cried out, circling the heavily mossy object with awe.

Reaching his hand out, Edward touched the surprisingly smooth surface with knitted eyebrows.

"This is an unusually smooth rock."

The investigator cleared away some moss to get a better look, revealing a metal arm.

"Woah!"

With excitement laced in his smile he pulled and cleared away as much moss as he could, wondering what this newfound object could be. Was it treasure? Or a capsule from someone who lived here long ago? Was it a statue of an ancient civilization? Or perhaps it was a sculpture of a famous artist.

"No, its a... suit of armor?" the blond finished, stepping back to view the battered and weathered armor. It was a dull grey that mixed with the orange-brown rust. All over the newfound armor were stains from growing moss, the heap of metal just hunched over in a sitting position. He had read about many knights in shining armor, coming to a princess' rescue and slaying fierce dragons. Maybe it was from one of his stories?

Before the curious child could keep wondering, however, a small spark flickered within the eyes of the helmet.

"Woah...,"

The faint white spark slowly grew into a vibrant light that filled the eyes of the lonely armor.

"Hello," a child's voice spoke, startling Edward. "You found me."

The blond jumped back in surprise, but soon re-approached the object in question.

"Hi...,"

It was quiet for a moment before a reply came.

"Hello, what's your name?" the armor asked.

"I'm Edward, Edward Elric," the boy answered "What's your name?"

"I don't have a name," it replied, "People have given me many names over the long centuries. You may call me whatever you want."

"Cool! I'll have to come up with something awesome. Can you walk?"

The hunched over metal didn't answer back, instead it slowly stood up from it's long slumber.

"Yes, I am able to walk."

"That's amazing! I've never seen a suit of armor walk all on its own before!"

The ancient sleeper moved its creaky limbs, time creating its own type of arthritis. "It's been a long time since I've been up and about."

Edward smiled in amazement, watching as the suit loosened up.

"Hey! Want to adventure with me?"

The weathered armor nodded its helmet and looked around. "Sure."

The boy grabbed the faded leather hands, gripping it's large finger and pulling it along. Ed made his way back to the stream with his newfound friend in tow, giggling as they reached the waters edge.

"We'll have to hop across the rocks, just be careful because they're slippery! Here, watch me."

Edward leaped from the grassy Earth to the first river rock, balancing on it before taking another jump to a nearby stone. One by one he jumped from slippery stone to slippery stone with balance and skill that came from much repetition.

"There!" he concluded, turning around to encourage his friend. "Now it's your turn!"

The armor nodded it's helmet before taking a step out onto the rock. Due to the great difference in height, the armor was able to step from rock to rock with it's long stride where as the small boy had to make leaps.

"No way! You just walked across!"

The ancient sleeper let out a chuckle and shrugged. "Thanks, it was nothing really."

The adventurous boy grabbed the rough leather hand once more, pulling his friend along as they weaved through the timeless trees and green grass.

"I want to take you to my favorite sitting rock!"

The duo trotted, the armor leaving deeper and larger footprints in the soft ground. Step by step they made their way to the boulder Ed was so fond of.

"Ta da!" he introduced, watching as the ageless armor approached the rock and circled it.

"I know this rock," it commented, "This was the very boulder that determined the outcome of the Battle of the Setting Sun."

"Woah... really?" Edward asked, awe shining in his eyes.

The iron giant nodded in response. "Yes, a very long time ago there were people who waged war on this land. They called it the Battle of the Setting Sun because of the time of day it took place. The battle was rough and fierce, and many lives were lost. But, when all seemed hopeless, the commander of the army stood upon this boulder and rallied his men, giving them the morale needed to win."

"This rock here?" Ed gestured, smiling when the armor nodded.

"Yes, this boulder here. I remember it like it was yesterday. Back then there were no trees at all, all this was a great big meadow. It seems as though time has nurtured a great garden."

The captivated blond quickly scaled the boulder so that he could sit face to face with the sanding suit of armor. "What was this place like back then?"

The grey giant looked around before replying.

"It was much, much different place back then...,"

And so the golden-locked boy sat with bright eyes and a wide smile, encountering many more adventures than he had ever imagined. Atop that rock he heard of wars, civilizations, shifting landscapes, fires, floods. All the history of the very land he lived on was told in a tale of adventure and glory by the iron giant. Gasps and exclamations shot out of the boy's mouth during the many stories, his eyes forever wide. Soon, however, the sun began to set as the red and golden rays pierced through to the forest floor.

"I have to get going...," Ed pouted, frowning at the time of day. "Will you be here tomorrow?"

The iron giant nodded, waving his leather hand as the boy turned to leave.

"Oh yeah! Alphonse!"

"What?" the armor questioned.

"Alphonse, that's your new name," the boy smiled. "I'll call you Alphonse."

Al nodded again. "I like that name."

Edward grinned and gave a thumbs up before running off towards his cottage home, leaving the timeless iron giant to wander back to where he was found.

* * *

"Mom! Mom! Mom!" Ed cried the next morning, tugging at his mother's hand in anticipation.

"What is it dear? What has you so worked up?"

"My friend! I met a friend yesterday and I want you to meet him! Come on Mom!"

Trisha smiled and gave in to her son's antics, following in tow as he flung the door open to reveal a vibrant and beautiful day.

"He's not far! I saw him when I was sitting on my rock! You know my rock mom, right? Guess what! It's _super_ old! Long ago it - never mind I'll let Alphonse tell you!"

Trish chuckled as she was pulled down the grassy hill, her hair ruffled from the cool breeze. "Alphonse? So that's his name?"

Ed shook his head as he lead her between the trees, weaving through them with vigor.

"Well, no. He doesn't have a name, so I came up with Alphonse. Pretty cool right?"

His mother only smiled, watching as the creek came into view.

"He's right over here mom!" Ed cried, quickly jumping across the wet and mossy river rock. Trisha chuckled and lifted up her dress, carefully placing her steps until she crossed the water.

"Where honey?" she called out.

"Over here!" her son's voice rang out among the trees. Trish followed the echo until she found him standing in front of a large suite of armor that was hunched over.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know this was out here!"

Ed beamed from ear to ear as he showed off his new friend. "Yeah, he's really cool! Huh Alphonse? Say hi to Mom."

Trisha cocked her head and awaited a reply, but nothing came.

"Al?" the boy asked again, knocking on the armor as if it were a door. "Wake up buddy! Say hi! I brought mom here!"

The iron giant only sat there, lifeless as the rocks they had stepped on.

"Honey, I don't think he's actually alive."

The boy shook his head and grabbed the armor, trying to shake it as well.

"No, he is! He told me all these stories of adventures and people that used to live here. He said there weren't any trees here long ago, can you believe it?"

His mom frowned and bent down to look her son in the eye.

"It's just a suit of armor Edward, it's just your imagination," she ruffled the disappointed boy's hair and stood up. "Come on, I have breakfast waiting for us back at the cottage."

Trisha waved at the armor to make her son feel better, watching as Ed just stared at the empty shell.

"Why wont you wake up? Alphonse...?"

A tear streaked down his little cheek as a small sniffle arose. He was just alive, just here. What had happened? Suddenly something caught his eyes, causing him to smile again. In the distance was a set of footprints, one small set and one large and deep set. They were they same tracks that he and Al had left the other day.

"Mom! Look! See I told you-,"

But to his disappointment she had already left, making her way back to the cottage a top the hill. The adventurous boy let his shoulders drop in defeat, turning to look at the armor one last time before following his Mom.

"I know you were real, Alphonse," he ran up and hugged the giant. "And even if you weren't, you'll always be my friend."

Not far from where the armor slumbered lay a set of footprints that weren't of human origin. The only proof that there was a spark of life within the gentle, iron giant.


End file.
